I would like to purchase a multi stem silver birch with a strong white bark. On researching this I gather that the whitest is betula utilis jacqueminitti snow queen or graywood ghost?
However any garden centre that I have visited (and there have been a few!) all the silver birches seem to have one single stem. Do further stems develop? or it there a particular species that will provide white bark and multi stem? The online nurseries also don’t seem very clear on this matter.

10 Jul, 2011

Answers

To get a multi-stemmed tree the main leader (main stem) needs to be cut out, then lots more shoots will form, you can then choose how many to keep. It is basically coppicing. If you are prepared to wait a while, get a good white form, plant it and then cut out the main leader when the tree is dormant. The next season you should get multi stems.